COLONIAL 1624-1750s

ORIGINS 
COLONIAL
 AMERICAN REVOLUTION
GROWING PAINS
BIRTH OF METROPOLIS
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1624   Permanent colony of New Netherland is established

Permanent colony is established by the newly formed Dutch West India Company and named New Netherland. The first settlers were a mere 30 families (110 people). They were mostly Walloons, French-speaking Protestants, and refugees from Spanish Netherlands who had fled to Holland from Holy Inquisition. They had settled on Nut (now Governor's) Island and started a fur trade with local Indians. The island of Manhattan at the time was densely populated with geese, ducks, foxes, bears, turkeys, and, of course, beavers. ​

​1625   New Amsterdam is born

New Amsterdam was born when Peter Minuit took over as the first director general of the newly established colony. ​He renamed it New Amsterdam and moved it to the island of Manhattan. Feeling ‘generous, he arranged the purchase of Manhattan Island from the Algonquian Indians, for beads, trinkets, cloth, axes and other items valued at approximately $24. This story would go down in history as the best real estate deal ever, if only it were true. In reality, American Indians did not use the European idea of land ownership, and therefore couldn't sell the land. Besides, there were various tribes hunting on the island of Manhattan, and 'purchasing' it from one of them would not have made it legitimate. Nevertheless, the colonists, being blissfully unaware of that fact, relocated to their new home at the southern tip of Manhattan. BTW, Queens was settled by the Dutch in 1635. Brooklyn - in 1654. Bronx was bought by the Dutch West India Company in 1639. Later it was purchased by Danish immigrant Jonas Bronsk. Alas, the name....

1647  Peter Stuyvesant, the first governor of New Amsterdam

Peter Stuyvesant, the first governor of New Amsterdam, was appointed to rule the colony by the Dutch West India Company with the noble purpose of making it profitable. A stern, even mean ruler, Stuyvesant was referred to as 'peg leg Peter'. Indeed, one of his legs was made out wood. Before being appointed to New Amsterdam, he served as a soldier for Dutch West India Company and rose through the ranks to become governor of Curacao. After losing his leg in a battle he went back to Holland until he was appointed governor of New Amsterdam. Stuyvesant was a stern administrator; he instituted night curfews for pubs, imposed punishments for public rowdiness, outlawed fighting and sex with Indians, created schools primarily to keep youth off the streets, and forbade common law marriages. Stuyvesant's estate, aka Bouwerie, was located between 5th and 20th Street, east of 4th Ave. Hence, the name Bowery.

1653  New Amsterdam becomes a city

The colony New Amsterdam incorporates as a city in 1653 with great pomp and parade down Broadway. The reason?  Order and taxes! Peter Stuyvesant was sent to the new world to establish a proper city government. That way, laws would be enforced and taxes would be collected. To ensure that the new city was well protected from the Indians, wild animals, and, most importantly, the English, Stuyvesant builds a wall from the East River to Hudson River (along what is now, therefore, called Wall street). The main reason for this was that England was, at the time, at war with Holland. By the way, England was going through an unusually rough patch in its history: Oliver Cromwell beheaded King Charles I and seized power (1651).

1654     First Jewish settlers in New Amsterdam

The first Jewish settlers arrived to New Amsterdam in the summer of 1654. The very first Jew arrives from Holland, but in a month a small community of 27 joins him. These people had quite a journey! ​ Their ancestors were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492 when Ferdinand and Isabella cleansed their realm of Jews and Muslims in a Christian frenzy. The expelled Jews took refuge in Holland, and then relocated to Brazil, which was then partly Dutch. In 1654 Brazil fell to Portuguese. The story repeated itself, as the descendants of the Jews that fled Spain and Portugal had to flee once more! It was back to Amsterdam again. 15 ships made it safely to Holland. One of the ships, which was carrying 27 Jews, was captured by Spanish pirates. They were rescued by a French privateer, but since they didn't have enough to pay for the passage to Holland, they were taken to closer destination of New Amsterdam, instead. Stuyvesant hated the idea. He didn't want any Jews to "infest" the colony. However, Dutch West India Company insisted that since the Jews held shares in the company and had suffered a loss in the capture of Brazil, they should be allowed to stay. The conditions of their new residence was that they had to take care of their own poor and the only trade they were permitted was slaughtering livestock. Soon more Jews came from Curacao, then from Holland...

​1658  Harlem established by the settlers

Harlem was named after Dutch city of Haarlem which is located as far from Amsterdam as Harlem from New Amsterdam. Within a few years Harlem had about 30 families of ex-Frenchmen, Walloons, Danes, Swedes, German and Dutchmen.

​1664  New Amsterdam becomes New York

To the horror of Governor Stuyvesant, the English took New Amsterdam without any military action. The English send a letter to Stuyvesant guaranteeing undisturbed rights to all the citizens if the town surrenders peacefully. Even though Stuyvesant hid this letter, the word of it got out. Citizens of New Amsterdam didn't want to fight, and they didn't like their governor that much. They surrendered happily. ​ The colony was renamed New York in honor of Duke of York, the future King James II, the brother of Charles II, the King of England. Stuyvesant went back to the old country, but later returned to New York where he spent his old age and was buried.  The last of his descendants died in New York in the 20th century. ​

1682 New York is divided into counties

New York is divided into the counties of New York (Manhattan), Kings (Brooklyn), Staten Island (Richmond) and Queens.

1693 The Battery gets its name.  The Church of England becomes the official religion.

​​During French/British wars for the control of Canada, a battery of cannons – 94 in total – were mounted on the lower tip of the island to protect the entrance to the Hudson River from the French. The cannons were never fired, but the name stuck. The Church of England becomes the official religion of the colony. The cosmopolitan population of New York consists of:            - 1754 Dutch Reformed Church families,            -  1365 were Dissenters (Protestants) families,            - 260 Huguenot families,            - 90 Anglican families,            - 20 Jewish families            - 6 Catholics Practicing Catholics and Jesuits were banned from New York.

1697 Trinity Church, the first Anglican Church in the city, is built

His majesty King William III granted the Trinity Church a royal charter for the price of 1 peppercorn a year so that the Trinity could function as the virtual Church of England in the British colony of New York. It was the tallest structure in the city – ships could see its spire from the sea. A lot of people contributed to its construction, including the infamous captain-turned-privateer-turned-pirate, William Kidd. In 1705 Queen Ann granted Trinity Church 2 parcels of land for farming, stretching from Fulton Street to Hudson River. That sealed Trinity's fate as one of the wealthiest churches in the world. Later, Trinity was to become a landlord to rival ‘the Landlord’ of New York - John Jacob Astor. The first Trinity building perished in the Great Fire of 1776 during American Revolution.​​

​1733  The Bowling Green is the first city park.

Bowling Green had been a cattle market, parade ground, and a field for an early Dutch version of bowling before it became the first city park.  In 1733, the Common Council leased a portion of the parade grounds to prominent neighboring landlords for a peppercorn a year, upon their promise to create a park that would be "the delight of the Inhabitants of the City" and would add to its "Beauty and Ornament"

​1735  Peter Zenger's trial.  Birth of free press

Peter Zenger, publisher of one of the early New York papers, accurately but harshly criticized the corrupt governor of New York. At the time any critique of any British official was considered ‘seditious libel' and was punishable by law. Peter Zenger was put on trial where he was brilliantly defended by Andrew Hamilton, who argued that if it's true, it's not libel. Zenger was found not guilty. Press was granted the right to freely report truth.

1754    King's College is chartered

Kings College, the 6th college in colonies, was chartered by King George II. It was located on Broadway near Church Street, on the land belonging to the Trinity Church. Kings College was to become one of the highest regarded universities in the world, known today as Columbia University. ​

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